The man who turned down the chance to play for Wales says England will be gunning for them at the Six Nations and the World Cup

Ben Morgan has warned Wales that their record crushing of England last March has given the Red Rose added motivation for future battles.

The former Scarlets No. 8, who choose his native England rather than play for Wales on residency grounds, sat out the record 30-3 hammering through injury.

It enabled Wales to snatch the Six Nations title from their neighbours.

“That sort of defeat will be in your mind for a long time. It is going to be a big driver for future games against Wales,” he stressed. “I definitely think you learn more from losing than you do from winning.”

It’s not just the European crown where they’ll clash because they are in the same group at the England-hosted 2015 World Cup.

There’s also another complication because Australia are also in it with only the top two qualifying for the quarter-finals.

England put that embarrassing loss to Wales behind them in emphatic style during the summer, claiming a first Test series win away from home against Argentina for 32 years.

The trip also saw young players like Marland Yarde, Christian Wade, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Kvesic and Billy Vunipola, who also qualified for Wales, burst on to rugby’s international stage.

They all gained their reward earlier this month when England head coach Stuart Lancaster promoted them to the elite player squad, underlining a growing strength in depth two years out from World Cup 2015.

“That sort of tour was just a great opportunity for new people to come in and prove what they can offer and I think everyone did that. You could see it in the way we played,” said Morgan.

“Everyone stepped up and really impressed, and that reward has been achieved by being named in the elite squad.

“I don’t think the tour exceeded expectations, we were just very pleased with how well we executed our plays.

“We’ve got the ability to be able to play like that, but it doesn’t always come off through inaccuracies and discipline and that sort of thing.

“But the way we managed to deliver how we wanted to play was exactly what we were looking to do.

“And by having players coming through and taking their opportunities it means the competition in the squad across the board is at a different level.”

Twelve-times capped Morgan started both Tests – England won 32-3 in Salta and 51-26 in Buenos Aires a week later – and scored a try as Stuart Lancaster’s men secured an emphatic whitewash.

They posted 83 points and seven tries across both games. playing with a sense of panache that augers well for a gruelling 2013-14 campaign of autumn appointments with Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, the Six Nations and three Tests against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

“By having such competition it really drives the best from players and makes it a better team,” added 12 times-capped Morgan, speaking on behalf of the O2 Touch initiative.

“If you are slack at any point, there are about three or four people ready to take your spot. It really is a case of being at your best for every performance because there are so many people itching to be in that shirt.

“Just by being in this England environment, where you’ve got such attention to detail in your forward play, your back play, your defence, it really does develop you as a player. You are always hungry to be around the environment.

“What I have experienced with England has been fantastic. Stuart has brought belief into our squad and made it a culture we want to be in and around.

“We are looking for lots of small details that we can develop. The whole England set-up back to the clubs is a really healthy relationship where everyone is on the same page and trying to achieve the same things.

“There is no separation, because when you go back to your club you are still trying to work to the same thing, and that makes a really big difference to how you can approach international rugby.”

* Ben Morgan was speaking on behalf of O2 Touch, an initiative by the RFU and O2, proud Partner of England Rugby, to get more people involved in rugby. www.rfu.com/O2Touch

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.